


Red Riding Hood

by Simplyabookworm



Series: Red Hood & his little wolf [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Angst, Aromantic Jason Todd, Asexual Jason Todd, Asexual Tim Drake, Best Friends to Partners, But little, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Help, Human!Jason Todd, I don't know how to write angst, I stand by my favourite characters being a-spect, I'm always lost when I have to tag, Jaytim - Freeform, M/M, Mostly Fluff, OOC Jason Todd, OOC Tim Drake, Probably ooc, Queerplatonic relationship, Romantic Relationship, Royalty!Jason Todd, Wolf!Tim Drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26477215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simplyabookworm/pseuds/Simplyabookworm
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a little house, with a little girl and her mum. No one remembered the little girl’s name anymore, but everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood, because of a red hood her mum gave her and she wore everyday.Okay, jokes aside, that’s not what happens in this story.orJayTim disguised as Red Riding Hood
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Series: Red Hood & his little wolf [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926049
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a little house, with a little girl and her mum. No one remembered the little girl’s name anymore, but everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood, because of a red hood her mum gave her and she wore everyday. 

Okay, jokes aside, that’s not what happens in this story. 

First of all, the little house wasn’t so little. It’s a manor. A huge manor.  
Second, the little girl and her mum. Nope, totally wrong. No girls there. There were a dad, a grandfather and three sons.  
Third, our protagonist was the middle son, his name was Jason, also known as Red Hood because he loved to wear a red hood.

So, our introduction should be like this: 

Once upon a time, there was a manor in the woods, with a grandfather/butler, his son and his grandchildren. This story is about the middle son, Jason, Red Hood. 

The manor’s inhabitants were the Lord of Gotham and his family. 

Once a week, one of them was tasked to deliver a special cake, made by Alfred - their adopted grandfather/butler -, to Ma Kent. If today was an ordinary day, that task would be put upon the oldest son; unfortunately, both the Lord and his oldest and youngest sons were away on a diplomatic mission. Such as the situation was, the task was trusted upon Red Hood (who agreed immediately, because no one dared to deny something to Alfred). 

“Remember, young master, do not stray too far from the main path; walk fast; do not talk to strangers; Here, I packed a snack in case you’d get hungry.”, Alfred handed him a basket full of sandwiches and the cake. 

“Thanks Alfred! I think I’ll be alright, tho. I know how to defend myself. Plus, I’ll take with me a pair of knives.” At the lift of an eyebrow, he added “Only self-defence.” 

“Very well, Young master. Then I’ll let you to your task. Be careful and enjoy your walk, it is a wonderful sunny day, after all.” 

That said, Red Hood departed from home and began walking directed into the woods. 

\---

After walking for a long while, Red Hood decided to take a break and eat his lunch. Based on the position of shadows it was about noon time. He stepped out of the main path (don’t tell Afred) and ventured a little bit further in the woods, where he found a clearing. He sat there, ate only half of what Alfred packed, in case he’d be hungry later, and decided to take a nap. 

Meanwhile, a young, hungry and sleep-deprived wolf had his lair nearby. He smelled food, an heavenly odor, and his nose guided him directly to Red Hood napping place, to a basket full of food and a cake. When his mouth was ready to bite it, he froze. A blade was at his throat. 

“The fuck ‘r ya doin’?” 

‘That boy is cute’, was the wolf’s first thought, followed by a rumble of his stomach - it’s been a while since he last ate something. “I’m hungry.”, his mouth, faster than his brain, decided to share. 

The boy hesitated. The wolf didn’t mean any harm, and he heard his stomach rumble from afar. In truth, he didn’t seem completely in the present, too, not having reacted to the treat to his life. Red Hood pulled back the knife. 

“Ya can have everythin’ in the basket, but not the cake. Don’ touch ‘t.”, he granted. 

He watched the wolf blink one, two times, glance at him, at the basket, and at him again. He nodded one time and grabbed the other half of his snack. It was finished in a flash, and now the wolf was yawning. 

“What’s yer name?”

“...” 

“I’m Jason, but everyone know me as Red Hood.” 

“...Tim.” 

“Well, Timmy, ya interrupted my nap, so now that yer done eatin’-”

“I could use a nap.”, and promptly Tim positioned himself on Red Hood’s lap and fell asleep. 

After an incredulous stare, Red Hood decided he didn’t actually care, plus the wolf was warm - it was Spring, but the weather was still a little cold. He went back to sleep. 

When he woke up the wolf was gone, but the cake was still intact. Even if he was still a bit astonished about his encounter, he didn’t give it much thoughts, and resumed his journey through the forest. 

\---

It was night when Red Hood arrived at the Kents. As usual, they invited him to stay for dinner (who can refuse Ma Kent cooking?) and, since it was so late, it was decided he would be their guest for the night. The next day he went back to the manor, no wolf encountered this time. 

\---

A couple of days after Red Hood’s visit, dead animals began to appear at the Kent's door: rabbits, deers, etc. It went like this for a couple of days before Ma and Pa Kent decided they needed to catch whoever it was. Bizzarro and Conner, their grandsons, were enlisted to help. Cassie, Conner’s girlfriend, and Clark, their son, were called to help, too. They set up an ambush and caught the wolf in the act of leaving another gift at their door. Cassie overreacted, thinking that he was courting Conner, and acted more treating than necessary. After a lot of explanations, the wolf, Tim, was invited to eat with them every time he wanted. He befriended Cassie and all the Kents. They all treated him like family, and made sure he ate and slept. The only problem was that Tim categorically refused to share for whom were all those gifts - he only swore to Cassie they weren’t for Conner, or any of the Kents.

\---

One day, after months of friendship, Tim went to dinner at Ma Kent’s house and found the very same cake he smelled that day as dessert. He stared, speechless, long enough for Ma Kent and Conner to notice. 

“Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?”, Ma Kent had a worried look. 

“Yeah Tim, you look a little shook.”, added Conner. 

Tim was startled and brought back to the present. “Yeah, yeah, it’s just….”, he stopped, unsure if to ask or not. He decided to go for it. “Did you make that cake, Mrs Kent?” 

“Oh, no, it was made by a dear friend of mine. One of his grandsons delivered it to me today.” 

“Is it….uhm…..”, Tim hesitated, biting his bottom lip.

“Yes, sweetheart?”, her curiosity was peaked by his hesitation, but it would be rude to pressure him. She waited, patiently. 

Not ask now that he has the chance would be stupid, and Tim knew he could trust Ma Kent. “Did he wear a red hood, by any chance?” 

Surprised, she took a couple of seconds to answer. “No, it was Richard.”, then she added. “He wore a blue trench coat”, after all, Tim didn’t know Richard. 

“Oh…”, Tim's hopeful expression fell. 

“Doesn’t his brother wear a red hood, tho? Bizzarro’s friend?”, Conner intervened. Tim looked so sad and he hoped to cheer him up a bit. 

“Language, young man.”, Ma Kent gave him a firm look. “But you are right, Richard has two little brothers: the middle one’s name is Jason, but people called him Red Hood, and the youngest one’s name is Damien.”, she looked at Tim again, thoughtful. An idea lit up in her head and she decided to push a little and asked. “Is it possible that you saw Jason last time he delivered that cake and followed him here?” 

Tim’s face coloured a bit and it glanced down. He said nothing. 

“It is possible all those gifts were actually for him?”, Ma Kent smirked, sure of herself now. 

Tim’s face was as red as a tomato. He hid it in his hands. Conner and Ma Kent laughs just made him blush more. 

\---

Conner and Ma Kent finding out about Tim’s interest in Red Hood meant everyone in their family now knew.

It also meant Richard and Damien, Jason’s brothers, and Alfred heard of it. 

And while Alfred trusted his old friend’s judgement, Richard and Damien were worried, so they decided to investigate it and see for themselves this would-be-suitor of their brother. 

\---

First step of their plan was to find information, so they did the only smart thing: asked the Kents. And the Kents were delighted to talk about Tim. 

They found out that the pup was a couple years younger than Jason (but older than Damien, for the latter disappointment); he loved to read and know stuff in general. He wasn’t too great at manual work, but he was smart at figuring out ways to be helpful and he thought outside the box; he wasn’t a picky eater, but tended to forget to sleep and eat when something caught his attention. 

They also found out he didn’t really say anything about Jason, neither confirm or deny the gifts were for him. It was Ma Kent and Conner who took his silence as confirmation. 

Second step was a face-to-face meeting, and that happened sooner than they thought. The very same day, at dinner time (they accepted the Kents invitation to stay for dinner and spend the night there) Tim knocked at the door and politely asked if he could come in. 

“Of course you can, sweetheart. And I told you don’t need to knock, just come in.”, Ma Kent smiled and hurried him inside. 

“Thanks Mrs Kent, but I’ll still knock next time”, smiled back Tim. 

“Did you eat, sweetie? And slept?”, she worried. 

“Err...I’ll sleep later. I found a solution for your irrigation problem and wanted to discuss it with Mr Kent. I can come back later, tho..”, offered Tim, having noticed their guests. 

“Nonsense, my sweet boy. You’ll discuss things with Jonathan over dinner”, Ma shushed him and directed him at the kitchen table. 

“I don’t want to intrude”, hesitated Tim, glancing at Richard and Damien. 

“No intruding happened. Those two are Richard and Damien. They’re good friends of Clark and Jon”, Ma Kent introduced them. “Richard, Damien, this is Tim, a friend of Conner”

“Tt”, Damien acknowledged him with a nod.

“Nice to put a face to your name. We heard a lot about you”, Richard answered for both of them. 

“Nice to meet you, too. Jon talks a lot about you”, there was a shy look in Tim’s eyes. 

“Good, now go wash your hands while I set another plate for you. And please call Jonathan and the others, dinner’s ready.”, Ma Kent clapped her hands and everyone moved to obey her commands. 

They observed Tim during dinner. 

The wolf was thin, maybe a little bit too much, he was pale and had dark bags under his eyes. Black hair and incredible blue eyes stand out, tho. He had a fluffy-looking tail and ears. He was graceful while he moved and ate. He seemed to hate small talk, but was passionate about what he loved. 

All in all a productive day. Tim didn’t have their approval yet, but he seemed nice. 

\---

Months passed by and Richard and Damien went to visit their friends more often than before, and they began to interact with Tim more and more each time. They got to know him, and he, too, felt more at ease in their presence. 

\---

One day a messenger came to deliver an invitation: the Kents were officially invited to Red Hood’s 18th birthday party. 

\---

The day of the party, Conner and Ma Kent helped Tim with his formal clothes (Ma adapted some of Conner's clothes for him). Tim looked handsome, even if a bit anxious. 

The plan was simple: let Tim and Jason meet, make them talk and then leave them alone. Easy peasy. Idiot-proof. Even better, they’ll spend the night at the manor, since they are friends and the party is expected to end late in the night. 

\---

The night arrived and so did our guests. Lord Bruce and his sons were at the front door to greet all of them, as bon ton dictated. 

As the matriarch of her family (her husband couldn’t attend the party because of a previous engagement) Ma Kent greeted them. “How do you do, Bruce?”, she bowed a little. “Richard, Damien, Jason, how do you do?”, she took Red Hood’s face in her hands. “And happy birthday to you, my dear boy.”

Red Hood smiled. “Thank ya, ma’am.”, his accent was subtle, but did not disappear. 

“Gentlemen, let me present you Tim, a dear friend of Conner. He’s here as our plus one. Tim, let me present you Lord Bruce and Jason, his second born.”, Tim bowed and smiled at them. “And you already know Richard and Damien”

“Yes, Mrs Kent. How do you do, Lord Bruce?”, Tim did his best not to look nervous, but wasn’t sure he was succeeding. 

“How do you do, Tim?”, Bruce smiled. “Richard and Damien talked a lot about you, recently. I feel like I already know you.” 

Richard blushed and spluttered. “We don’t talk about him that much”, he turned to Damien. “Right?” 

“I certainly do not”, was Damien's answer, crossing his arms (and slightly blushing). 

“If yer gonna look for Alfred, he’s in the Green Room, ma’am”, Jason offered. As entertaining a fight between his brothers always is, it was his birthday party, he didn’t want to ruin it. 

“Yes, thank you dear, and call me Ma Kent, not ma’am”, she told him that so many times, but it never stuck. Her little wolf and Jason are pretty similar in that. 

Red Hood smirked. “Course, ma’am.”

\---

After their introductions, Tim was nowhere to be seen. He felt overwhelmed by how many people there were. He hid behind columns and courtens, observing Red Hood (no, Jason, his name is Jason, he reminded himself). All his courage vanished, but not his curiosity about the boy. Jason was blunt (even though he tried to be more polite with the elders), but not mean, he danced with all the girls and also some guys, leaving no one to be alone too much. He talked to all his guests and tried to make sure everyone was okay and was having fun. From time to time he would look around, as if searching for something or someone. It was by chance they met again on the balcony where Tim was hiding. 

“There ya ‘r’, wolfy. I’ve been looking for ya all evenin’”, he sing songed. 

“I have a name”, snapped Tim, and immediately regretted his outburst. It was not Jason’s fault his nerves couldn’t stand too many strangers too long. 

“Wow, sorry, I didn’ mean to anger ya”, Jason held his hands up as to placate him. “I wanted t’ ask for a dance with ya, I haven’t seen ya anywhere tonight, I don’ wanna ya t’ feel left out”, he explained. 

“I’m sorry. It’s fine. I’m just not used to so many people”, Tim was looking around nervously, like he was scared of someone coming out on the balcony. 

“So….”, Jason stopped, unsure if him trying to be polite would make Tim more uncomfortable. 

Tim’s eyes concentrated on him, curiosity piqued. “So?”, inquired. 

“So… can I have that dance?”, Jason sounded unsure even at his own ears. 

“... Inside?...”, it was just a whisper. 

“Or outside, wherever you’re more comfortable”, Jason hurried to say. Maybe... 

“... Outside is fine” 

Yes, mission accomplished. Tim didn’t seem like he wanted to puke anymore (in fact, he was blushing) and, well, he gets to breath a little air, too. Bowing, Jason offered his right hand at Tim, who accepted. “Now, do ya actually know how t’ dance or do ya wanna me t’ teach ya?” 

\--- 

They danced together for the rest of the night, chatting. Jason found Tim interesting and funny, and wouldn’t mind spend time with him. Tim already knew Jason was a kind person, but discovering they both have a similar taste for books was a delight. After a talk about their favourite books, Jason asked Tim to hang out with him at the manor library. 

“Really? Can I?”, incredulity was evident in Tim’s voice. 

“Course ya can. No one ever use the library ‘xcept me, anyway”

\---

Their meetings happened once a week for months. Jason began by showing Tim the manor’s library, then his room, then the rest of the house and garden, then the city nearby. Tim always brought with him a couple of gifts: one for him and one for Bruce, as the head of the family. They got to know each other, and Tim found himself a little obsessed with Jason. The more he knew about him, the more he liked him. 

\---

One day Jason and Tim were having a walk in the manor’s gardens. It was a fine day, warm weather but not too hot. Few white clouds in the sky and Tim was in a particularly good and optimistic mood, that day. Jason accepted and liked all his gifts up until now (even if he said Tim didn’t need to give him a new book every time they meet, Tim knew he loved them), and always seemed happy to see him; Tim was always greeted with an hug and Jason preferred to spend time just the two of them. Analyzing his behaviour made Tim feel pretty confident. Tim decided to wait the right moment and act...by kissing Jason.

It didn’t go well. 

“THE HELL ARE YA DOIN’?”, yelled Jason, pushing Tim away. He looked angry. Tim had never seen Jason angry. The confidence he had quickly evaporating. 

“I-I… I like you, and since you accepted my courtship I thought… I thought you liked me too…”, Tim was confused now, and was feeling anxious, too. Jason wasn’t happy. Maybe he didn’t like him? Maybe he misunderstood Tim’s intentions? But he accepted the gifts, and asked to see him week after week. Tim didn’t understand what was wrong. 

“THE FUCK ARE YA TALKIN’ ABOUT? I DIDN’T ACCEPT YER COURTSHIP AN’ I DEFINITELY DIDN’T WANT YA TO KISS ME”, Jason was furious. He knew he was overreacting, but he felt so angry the minute his best friend invaded his personal space without his permission. 

Tim lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry”, he whispered. Ears shut against his head, eyes on the ground and tail between its legs, he ran away to the forest. 

\---

No one has seen Tim for days. 

Not the Waynes, not the Kents and, surely, not Jason - who was worried, but didn’t want to admit it, even to himself. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened that day, and about what Tim said. He talked about accepting his courtship, but what courtship? Did Tim begin to court him, at some point, and he didn’t notice? Looking back, he didn’t think Tim’s behaviour changed throughout all their acquaintance. Was Tim courting him from the beginning? Wait, was that the reason why he always gifted him something every time they met? He needed to do some research to confirm his hypothesis, and he knew the right place and person for that. 

\---

Barbara Gordon was a librarian of the Watchtower, the biggest library in Gotham, old friend of Richard and always super informed about the weirdest stuff. The only problem was that she was too smart for his own good, and a big gossip (especially with his big bro). 

Jason entered the library and tried to sound casual. “Hey Babs, long time no see.”, not the best greeting, but casual enough. 

Barbara interrupted what she was doing to greet him. “Hey Jay! Yeah, it’s been a while. What can I do for you?”, her eyes were knowing. Richard went to visit her immediately after Tim’s and Jason’s fight (Richard was snooping around in the garden when it happened, and heard and saw everything). 

“Why do ya think I want somethin’? Maybe I just want to hang out with ya..:”, he tried to keep up his cover, but he knew it wouldn’t last. 

“Nice try, but I talked to Richard regularly, and you know it. You’re here because you’re worried about your little wolf friend”, she smirked, knowing she won. 

“Yeah, ‘kay, busted. Somethin’ ‘bout him an’ the situation bugged me. I’m here for research”, he deflated and confessed. No point in lying to Barbara, anyway. She always found out. 

“See, it’s easy. Down that aisle and turn left. That’s the section you’re looking for”, she was laughing. 

Jason rolled his eyes and went down the aisle. “Thanks Babs”

\---

Jason's research about wolf’s mating habits went well, even too well. Apparently accepting Tim’s gifts and spending time alone with him regularly were hints of a courtship. And he didn’t know that, but he led Tim on without meaning to. He felt guilty, like the worse scum existing. He needed to talk to Tim as soon as possible, but first he needed to have a couple of words with his brothers. 

\---

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find his brothers that day, and Jason knew he had to wait and hope they weren’t too busy the next day. The waiting only made him more anxious for answers and kept him from sleep. For that reason, he got up unusually early and went for a walk. Lucky for him, Jason found them sparring in the garden before breakfast. 

He approached them fast, and decided to be direct in his intentions. “Oi, tell me everythin’ ya know ‘bout Tim”, he was being rude, but the lack of sleep didn’t help him to keep his manners.

Both Richard and Damien stopped their fight. “Good morning to you, too, Jason. You’re up unusually early, today”, his older brother was too cheerful for someone up so early. 

“Tch, you lack any manner, as always”, Damien said, crossing his arms on his chest. 

“Yer one to talk, demon spawn” 

Richard interrupted them before they could even begin to fight. “We don’t really know so much. We met him at the Kents, he’s a good friend of Conner and Ma Kent.” 

“That’s all?”, stated Jason irritatedly. “He was at my birthday party and that’s all ya know ‘bout him?”, he sounded incredulous. “Ya seriously didn’t investigate him? Our paranoid dad didn’t do it?” 

“No, we investigated him, but…”, rubbing a hand on his nape nervously, Richard continued. “Well, there’s a reason why we didn’t say anything about him, and it’s really not our place to talk about it”, hesitatingly, he suggested. “Maybe you could go visit the Kents?” 

Jason walked away without say goodbye. 

\--- 

Immediately after his talk with his brothers, Jason went to find Alfred and told him he was going to Ma and Pa Kent’s house. He got ready, wore his red hood, took a basket with some snack Alfred prepared for him and, walking fast, in no time he arrived at the Kent’s. 

He ringed the bell and waited for Ma Kent to open the door. She seemed surprised to see him. “Hello, ma’am. Lon’ time no see”, he greeted her. 

Recovering fast from her surprise, Ma Kent smiled at him. “Hello dear boy. I believe we haven’t met since your party, am I right?” 

“Yeah, pretty much”, nodded Jason. 

Stepping aside from the door, she invited him inside. “What brought you here? I imagine your visit has a different purpose from your usual, since my old friend’s cake was delivered a couple of days ago” 

“Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to ya ‘bout Tim.”, he laid on the ground his basket and peeled off his hood. 

“Oh, and how is he? We haven’t seen him in a while, more than we’re used to, actually”, she asked, a little bit worried. 

“I… I dunno, I haven’t seen him in days, either. I hope he’s alright”, he hung his red hood carefully. “Actually, I came here to talk ‘bout that, too”, he turned to face Ma Kent. “I asked Dick ‘bout Tim, but he didn’t give me a real answer, an’ just told me it wasn’t his place to tell”, he frowned. “He told me to talk to ya” 

“Mmmh…. I agree”, Ma Kent led him in the kitchen. “Could you call Conner, we’ll need him for that conversation. I’ll boil some water for tea. Is Earl Gray good?” 

“Yeah, I love it. Where can I find him?” 

Already grabbing her kettle and cups, she answered. “I believe he’s in his room upstairs.” 

\---

Jason found Conner playing cards with Bizzarro. After a quick hug to his friend and an apology because he couldn’t play, he told Conner Ma Kent needed him downstairs. The younger boy quickly followed - he was losing, anyway. 

Meanwhile, Ma Kent set up the table for their tea. Three beautiful cups of fine china, white with little blue flowers, were on the table. A matching teapot was in the centre. Sugar, milk and biscuits were also there. Ma Kent poured the tea in silence, waiting for them to add milk and sugar as they liked. 

Once all three of them took a sip, she asked. “So, what do you want to know about Tim?” 

Jason didn’t waste time and immediately asked. “What are my brothers hiding about him? How did they even know him?” 

“To answer that question, we have to tell you how we met him”, said Ma Kent. “We met because one day dead animals began to appear at our door at night. We were scared and asked for help. We caught Tim leaving one of his ‘gifts’ - that was how he called them - at our first steakout. He categorically refused to tell us for whom they were. After a while we found out they were for you. He followed you here when you delivered Alfred’s cake months ago.” 

Jason was stunned. He couldn’t believe he missed someone following him in the forest. “But… how did my brothers know him?” 

“Well, Clark and Jon might have told them about our little discovery and they decided to investigate him. We all love a little gossip, after all. Richard found him cute and began to mother henned him, and even Damien was less rude to him than I thought he would be” 

“Why didn’t say anything to me?”, Jason was still pretty confused about that. 

“They probably hoped for you two to become friends, if not something else. They worry about you being alone all the time”, confided Ma Kent. “Now let’s talk about you, dear. We know something happened. We all haven’t seen Tim in days and Richard said you had some kind of misunderstanding….” 

“I…”, he stopped. He didn’t want to speak rushly and be misunderstood. Again. “I might not have reacted well when Tim kissed me outta nowhere…” 

“TIM KISSED YOU???”, Conner screamed. 

“Shush, Conner. Our ears function perfectly fine”, after a mumble apology from Conner, she continued. “Jason, what do you mean when you say you didn’t react well?” 

Jason swallowed and continued slowly. “I yelled at him some stuff an’ he ran off” 

“Some stuff as in?”, inquired Conner, squeezing his eyes. If Jason did something to hurt Tim, God help him, Conner will end him immediately. 

“...As in I didn’t accept his courtship an’ I didn’t wanna him to kiss me”, whispered Jason, barely audible. 

“Oh, sweetheart”, sighed Ma Kent. 

“Is that what you really feel about him? The guy loves you and everybody sees that. We all knew he was courting you and we thought you reciprocate his feelings”, angrily stated Conner. 

“I-I… I just… I don’t love him that way...”, he swallowed again, having difficulties speaking. “I love him in every other way, but I don’t think I’m in love with him. I love him but I’m not in love, I can’t”, Jason started crying. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was courting me. I liked what we had, but I… I just can’t…” 

Ma Kent hugged him. “It’s okay, it’s okay sweetheart. We understand.”, he cried harder. “We don’t want to force you into anything, if you don’t want to. We’ll help you find Tim. Whatever happens, you two need to talk. You both will have our support, doesn’t matter how things end”, Ma Kent continued whispering sweet nothing in his ear until he calmed down. 

\---

Jason began searching for Tim in the forest. He searched for days and days, but still no trace of his little wolf. Tim seemed to have just disappeared. 

One day, when he was pondering the idea of giving up, he found himself in the same clearing of that time. He remembered this was the place of his first encounter with the weird wolf. Sighing, he decided a little nap wouldn’t hurt. Who knows, maybe he’ll have an idea while asleep. 

He woke up at the sound of breathing and with something warm and cozy in his lap. Opening his eyes he found Tim asleep on him (and the snacks Alfred packed for him gone - dammit Tim). Jason didn’t dare move, scared that Tim would run from him the moment he woke up. Before his brain was fully awake, his hand was petting Tim’s head. And when his little wolf stirred in his sleep, he hummed a lullaby. 

“Don’t do it” 

Startled by his sudden word, Jason froze. “Don’t do what?” 

“Don’t pet my hair. Don’t give me hope.”, Jason’s hand stopped, but was still touching Tim’s head. 

“I… Okay” 

Tim straightened up and looked Jason in the eyes. His glance revealed nothing. “Why are you here, Jason?” 

Dear Lord, Tim was a mess. Pale, dark bags under his eyes like he didn’t sleep at all since last time they saw each other, he was too thin again. Jason wandered if he ate at all in the past days. “I wanted, no, needed to talk to ya” 

“Why? You made pretty clear you don’t want me”, Tim’s tone was bitter. 

“I want ya”, not exactly convincing, but he needed to try. 

“Don’t lie”, Tim casted his eyes on the ground, defeated. 

“Not lying. I just… I don’t think we want each other the same way…”, no response, but the wolf’s ears twitched. He was listening. With a hoarse voice, Jason continued. “I’m not in love with ya, but I love ya with all my heart.” 

Unseen by Jason, tears slowly filled Tim’s eyes. “Please, stop. You don’t love me. There’s no need to try and make it better.” 

“NO, listen to me. Please” 

“...Okay” 

“I love spend time with ya. I love yer curiosity, yer wit, yer sarcastic rebuts. Ya always read every book I raccommand an’ when we discuss it yer observations are so peculiar. I love when ya take me around the forest, yer home. I love when we cuddle under a blanket, in front of a fireplace with hot chocolate. I think yer super cute when ya blush”, Tim cheeks were now slightly pink. “Yeah, just like that. Yer the cutest being I’ve ever met. I love what we had, I love ya. Yer a piece of my heart, now. If it’s ya, I don’t think I would mind give a try to that court thing” 

Tim’s tears stopped, and he stayed quiet for a long time. He spied on Jason from under his bangs and said. “I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want…” 

“I want ya but...I know ya could do with someone different. I’m probably not what ya want in a mate…”, now it was Jason’s turn to sound defeatedd. 

“NO. You’re everything I want in a mate. I love you so much”, Tim hugged him and hid his face in Jason’s neck. 

Jason held him tight. “Do ya mean we could try? Bein’ together?” 

“I’d like to try” 

“Me too” 

They were quiet for some time, then Tim spoke again in a whisper. “Hey, Jason. Do you think we could try again?” 

“Try what?”, he was whispering too, as if he was afraid to scare Tim this time too. 

“Kiss”, the word was mumbled but Jason got it and smiled. 

“Yeah, okay. No tongue, tho” 

“No tongue, promise” 

That time, the kiss ended very well.

**Author's Note:**

> If you read till the end, thank you, I hope you enjoyed it <3 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always welcome, if you want to leave them <3


End file.
